More people are turning to melatonin to sleep. But experts say it's not a panacea for everyone

More adults are turning to melatonin supplements and taking larger amounts of the sleep aid to get a good night's rest, according to a new study from the United States.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this month, found that melatonin use "significantly increased" from 1999 to 2018 across all demographic groups.

The research was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, a time when sleep disruption has been on the rise.

Although considered to be relatively safe, Canadian sleep experts and pharmacists say the supplement may not be beneficial for everyone.

"The problem is that sleep is a very complicated issue, and it's sometimes correlated with other clinical factors," said Mina Tadrous, a drug safety expert and assistant professor in the University of Toronto's Leslie Dan faculty of pharmacy.

"So one of the concerns is that if people are just using melatonin as a Band-Aid, they might not be addressing an underlying issue."

Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the brain's pineal gland, mainly at nighttime, and it helps to synchronize our sleep-wake cycle with night and day.

It is also sold in many Canadian pharmacies as an over-the-counter sleep aid supplement.

The supplement is gaining popularity in the U.S., according to the study published in JAMA, which found that overall melatonin use over the study period grew from 0.4 per cent of those surveyed in 1999-2000 to 2.1 per cent in 2017-2018.

Based on data from 55,021 Americans aged 20 and older, melatonin use really kicked off in 2009, the study found.

It didn't say why, but one Canadian psychiatrist says people may have started making the switch to melatonin that year.

"There might have been a decrease, for example, in the use of prescription sleeping pills, which would be a good reason to switch to more natural-sounding alternatives or to use non-prescription medications to try to get healthier sleep without pills at all," said Dr. Ramandeep Randhawa, an assistant professor and a psychiatrist in the University of British Columbia's sleep disorders program in Vancouver.

Canadian experts say that based on what they're hearing from patients and consumers, melatonin use is common.

"Although we don't have the same evaluation, many of my colleagues and myself have noticed the same thing where people are speaking about melatonin and using melatonin more often," Tadrous said.